Traditionally, businesses have deposited checks received from, for example, customers by physically taking them to a branch of their bank and depositing them over the counter with a teller or dropping them into a night deposit box. The actual physical presentation of checks to be deposited was necessary because, under prior banking laws, the depository bank had to present the original of each check to the corresponding paying bank in order to clear the check. This changed in October of 2004 with the enactment of The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, commonly referred to Check 21. Check 21 removed the legal requirement that an original paper check had to be presented to obtain payment. Instead, banks can now use digital images to transport check data from the bank of first deposit to the paying bank. Thus, depositors now have the option of depositing checks electronically. In particular, when a depositor wishes to deposit one or more checks, an operator, such an accounts receivable clerk, may scan each of the paper checks to be deposited using some type of a digital scanner to create an image of each check. The check images may then be transmitted electronically to the bank of first deposit. If any downstream bank, such as the paying bank, cannot process a check image, the image can be printed, according to certain specifications, to create what is known as a substitute check, which is the legal equivalent of the original paper check. Check 21 has thus opened the door for remote check deposit solutions wherein check images, rather than original paper checks, are used to make deposits, thereby enabling businesses to eliminate trips to the bank. In addition, the use of check images also reduces check transportation costs among banks and improves funds availability.
Check scanners, such as those currently used by most banks and similar institutions to processes paper checks, are notorious for misfeeds, also called masked feeds, wherein two are more checks are fed at the same time (one check masks the other(s)), resulting in only one of the fed checks being scanned. For traditional paper check deposits, the potential for misfeeds presents a problem because, without some safety mechanism, there is the danger that not all of the depositor's checks will be processed (deposited) by the receiving bank. As a result, depositors, when making a traditional paper check deposit, have typically included a safety mechanism with their deposit in the form of a calculator tape that lists the amount of each check (and possibly an associated account number or portion thereof) and the total amount to be deposited. The calculator tape may then be used by the receiving bank to ensure that all of the checks are properly processed. Misfeeds are also likely to present a significant problem for remote check deposit solutions because, as described above, a check scanner (similar to those currently used by most banks and similar institutions) must be used up front by the depositor to generate an image of each check being deposited. Thus, there is a need for a method for processing checks prior to electronically depositing the checks that provides safeguards against misfeeds during check image generation.